EP3331173B1 - Assembly for expanding the range of mimo radio systems to shaded areas - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an arrangement and a method for extending the range of M-MIMO (Massive Multiple-Input Multiple Output) radio systems to shadowed areas, in particular places without view to the mobile station such as in buildings or trains.

Customers of telecommunications network operators have an increasing demand for broadband Internet access. In addition to the data supply via wired infrastructure, e.g. Digital Subscriber Line (DSL), more and more radio access technologies are used. The most comprehensive radio coverage should be ensured with different radio networks. Radio networks are used with different radio technologies, e.g. Wireless LAN (WLAN), Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), Long Term Evolution (LTE) and in the future with the next generation of mobile radio 5G, realized in different frequency ranges.

The radio coverage of shaded areas is very demanding. Mobile base stations are usually built outside of buildings, mobile users, however, are mostly in shaded areas, for example, places without view to the mobile station, in trains or in buildings. Places where there are often several mobile users are called hotspots. The most diverse materials cause additional attenuation of the radio waves. In buildings one speaks of the so-called penetration damping. Penetration damping depends on the building material of the building and the radio frequency used. Higher frequencies are more attenuated. In future radio technologies, such as 5G, the use of ever higher frequencies is expected. Future technologies such as Massive-Multiple Input Multiple Output (M-MIMO), with a much higher number of antenna elements compared to today's antenna systems, will also be built at higher frequencies. This is due to the better implementation probability in terms of the antenna sizes but also by the availability of larger frequency bandwidths at high frequencies. Modern buildings are often made of building materials, which have high penetration attenuation. In particular exterior walls of reinforced concrete or exterior walls with metal cladding have high radio frequency attenuation. Modern windows are equipped with wafer-thin metal layers (heat protection glazing). The development leads to ever better insulating glass panes, the equipment with good insulating windows is even required by law. The equipment level with metal-coated insulating glass panes is therefore very large. Metallic layer windows cause very large penetration losses. In other places, such as in trains is to be expected with great penetration damping, on the other hand, just in such areas hotspots are expected.

Up to now introduced radio systems can partly overcome the penetration damping of buildings, since so far mostly frequencies smaller 6 GHz are used. However, even at frequencies <6 GHz high costs must be operated to ensure the supply in buildings. In order to achieve a defined supply within buildings, the base station density must be increased accordingly. This causes large investment measures of the radio network operators. Due to the growing demand for bandwidth, 5G radio systems will be used in ever higher frequency ranges in the next generation of mobile communications. This makes the supply of buildings even more demanding from an economic point of view.

It is the object of the present invention to provide a concept to provide shaded areas, i. Hotspots in shaded areas efficiently supplied with radio signals.

This object is solved by the features of the independent claims. Advantageous forms of further education are the subject of the dependent claims.

A basic idea of the invention is to use a system or a system with a passive repeater in combination with a transmission module on the side of the shaded area facing the base station. The transmitter module transmits pilot signals via an antenna in the direction of the Massive MIMO base station in order to "excite" them so that at least one massive MIMO beam can be permanently formed by the Massive MIMO base station in the direction of "indoor hotspot". The "passive" repeater can extend the signal to the interior. In-building users can benefit from a massive MIMO beam, which is extended by the repeater into the building.

document US 2005/0254442 (A1 ) describes an active, non-frequency translating repeater which is connected via an external antenna to a base station and via a second antenna to a subscriber terminal. The repeater amplifies in the uplink direction a signal from the subscriber terminal, which is received via the second antenna and sends it via the external antenna on to the base station. In the downlink direction, the repeater amplifies the signals from the base station and forwards them via the second antenna to the subscriber terminal.

document DE 10 2014 204 495 A1 describes a passive repeater for transmitting radio signals, which has a first antenna and a second antenna, which are connected to one another via a passive galvanic coupling. The first antenna is arranged in a shaded area of a housing and the second antenna is arranged outside the housing in the outer space.

The methods and systems presented below may be of various types. The individual elements described may be realized by hardware or software components, for example electronic components that can be manufactured by various technologies and include, for example, semiconductor chips, ASICs, microprocessors, digital signal processors, integrated electrical circuits, electro-optical circuits and / or passive components.

The devices, systems, and methods presented below are capable of limiting the range of communication networks with Massive MIMO radio systems to shadowed areas, i. expand funkabgeschattete areas.

The term communication network or communication network designates the technical infrastructure on which the transmission of signals takes place. The communication network essentially comprises the switching network, in which the transmission and switching of the signals take place between the stationary devices and platforms of the mobile radio network or fixed network, and the access network, in which the transmission of the signals takes place between a network access device and the communication terminal. The communication network may include both components of a mobile network and components of a fixed network. In the mobile network, the access network is also referred to as an air interface and includes, for example, a base station (NodeB, eNodeB, radio cell) with mobile antenna to establish communication with a communication terminal such as a mobile phone or smartphone or a mobile device with mobile adapter. In this case, the mobile phone or smartphone or the mobile radio adapter can lie in a shaded area in which the radio signals of the base station can be received only weakly or not at all.

Massive-MIMO is a pioneering technology that will play an important role in the next 5G mobile generation. Massive-MIMO can use the spatial separation of the radio channels of mobile users, by forming very narrow "Beams", or hide spatial interference, frequency and time resources of the radio interface multiple times, thereby the radio frequency spectrum is used very efficiently. Ideally, every user could within the Massive MIMO system use the full cell capacity per receiving antenna, which means a very strong improvement in the efficiency of mobile systems. Furthermore, with massive MIMO, spatial concentration of the transmission power, so-called beamforming, the supply within shaded areas can be improved. This is possible because Massive MIMO can achieve high antenna array gains by shaping user-oriented "beams". Massive MIMO beams can be formed both in view, so-called line of sight (LOS), as well as without view, so-called non-LOS (NLOS), between the base station and the mobile device, depending on the channel matrix of the radio channel. The so-called "beams" are formed by determining and considering the radio channel matrix. In both LOS and NLOS environments, high system gains can be achieved at the radio interface. These winnings are earned for uplink (user direction to base station) and downlink (base station -> users). The shape of the "Beams" is calculated and made by the Massive MIMO base station on the basis of transmitted pilot sequences of the mobile device. Pilot signals from mobile terminals located in heavily shaded areas can not be received by a massive MIMO system in extreme cases due to high radio field attenuation. The Massive MIMO system has no knowledge of the existence of the user and therefore can not form a beam towards a shadowed user. Users in locations with large radio field attenuation to the base station can not be supplied.

The devices, systems and methods presented below may use radio signal transmitters to transmit radio signals received from the base station into shadowed areas. For such radio signal transmitter different solutions can be used to improve the radio coverage in buildings or to allow, as presented below.

One example is the installation of small, network-operator-operated radio systems in buildings. Such systems can be installed in buildings in which there are many mobile users and therefore there is a high demand for mobile services (eg shopping malls, exhibition halls, airports, ...). Examples of this are repeaters or antenna distribution systems.

In addition, 3GPP Rel. 10 can use standardized relay techniques such as amplify and forward (AFW), decode and forward (DFW), or regenerative relays. These allow an extension of coverage for radio systems such as LTE (Long Term Evolution). Radio range in shaded areas. The "Amplify and forward" and "Decode and forward" methods, together with the Massive-MIMO transmission module presented here, can encourage systems to form "beams" and thus enable the highly efficient spatial multiple utilization of frequency and time resources typical for Massive MIMO , Alternatively, the 3GPP standardized Regenerative Relays method can be used in the transmit module to send pilot sequences to a Massive MIMO base station, causing massive MIMO beams to be formed. However, such a regenerative relay is very expensive, since it consists of a transmitting / receiving module and a base station.

Private repeaters can serve as a "regenerator", e.g. amplify signals received outside a building and radiate them regenerated in the building. This increases the degree of coverage in buildings. However, such solutions are operated at frequencies assigned to the network operators, so that the operation is not permitted to private individuals.

For example, passive repeaters consist of an antenna installed outside the building in question, a coaxial cable connection to the building, and an antenna in the building. For this solution, a cable entry into the building becomes necessary. At high frequencies the cable attenuation is high, the range is therefore limited. The system gain of passive repeaters consists of the sum of the antenna gains minus the attenuation of the coaxial line between the antennas.

Furthermore, radio signal transmitters can be realized as follows: Mounting an external antenna and coaxial cable connection into the building to the mobile device. Here the mobile device should have an antenna connection.

The devices, systems and methods presented below can use radio signal transmitters based on VLC (Visual Light Communication) transmission. VLC is a wireless transmission technique in which visible light is modulated with the data signal. This technique is also called Light Fidelity (LiFi) designated. VLC uses LED module light modulations using visible light with wavelengths between 375 nm and 780 nm. A radio signal transmitter based on VLC comprises a transmitting device (VLC transmitter), for example a light-emitting diode, and a receiving device (VLC receiver), for example a photodiode. For data transmission, the data in the VLC transmitter are converted into the corresponding protocol and modulated into light signals.

According to a first aspect, the invention relates to an arrangement for extending the range of massively multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) radio systems to shadowed areas, comprising: an outside antenna that is locatable outside a shadowed area within radio range of a base station; an indoor antenna that is arrangeable within the shadowed area within radio range of at least one wireless communication device; a transmitter module configured to generate an excitation signal and radiate to the base station via the outside antenna, wherein the excitation signal is configured to excite the base station to form a massive MIMO beam towards the outside antenna; and a radio signal transmitter configured to transmit a base station radio signal received from the outside antenna to the wireless communication device via the inside antenna.

With such an arrangement, heavily shaded areas can be efficiently supplied with radio signals. Even with extremely high penetration damping, as expected in future frequency ranges, shaded areas can be supplied with mobile radio signals. Massive MIMO allows the multiple use of equal frequency time resources by spatial separation of radio signals. The arrangement allows the supply of shaded areas with higher reception field strengths, the useful signal to interference ratio and the useful signal to noise ratio and thus the data throughput can be increased.

This allows cell edge areas to be supplied with high data rates much more efficiently and far-reaching. By placing the repeater at positions where there are usually no mobile subscribers, the shaped beam to the repeater beam can be made available exclusively by the repeater a shaded area and thus the frequency-time resources in addition of spatially assigned to separate users or repeaters. Thus, high data bandwidths can be provided at hotspots, even in shadowed areas.

In one embodiment of the arrangement, the radio signal transmitter together with the outside antenna and the inside antenna forms a passive repeater, which is designed to extend the massive MIMO beam received by the outside antenna with the radio signal into the shadowed area.

The combination of Massive-MIMO, stimulated by the transmitter module, and passive repeater cost-effective or efficient repeaters can be used.

In one embodiment of the arrangement, the radio signal transmitter is designed as a coaxial cable, which connects the outer antenna to the inner antenna.

This has the advantage that the transmission is less prone to interference, since the signal is transmitted within the coaxial cable, which can be well protected by the layer structure of the cable from external influences.

In one embodiment of the arrangement, the passive repeater operates bidirectionally, in an alternative embodiment of the arrangement the passive repeater operates unidirectionally.

The arrangement is also suitable for use in future broadcast systems with Massive-MIMO functionality.

In one embodiment of the arrangement, the transmission module is designed to radiate a specific coding to the base station, wherein the specific coding of the base station signals a corresponding resource request.

This provides the advantage that the device can request flexible resource provisioning so that more resources can be provided in a large shadowed area such as a large building than in a small shaded area such as a small building or a single mobile user.

In one embodiment of the arrangement, the radio signal transmitter is designed to establish a backhaul connection between the base station and the wireless communication device.

Backhaul (English for return transport) refers to the connection of an upstream, mostly hierarchically subordinate network node to a central network node. That the wireless communication device as well as the entire network within the shadowed area, e.g. an entire home network can thus be efficiently connected to the base station.

In one embodiment of the arrangement, the radio signal transmitter comprises an optical transmitter which is designed to transmit an optical signal between the outer antenna and the inner antenna.

This has the advantage that with such an optical signal easily glass panes can be overcome, which are difficult to penetrate radio signals, especially at higher frequencies.

In one embodiment of the arrangement, the radio signal transmitter comprises a VLC (Visible Light Communication) transmitter, which is designed to transmit a VLC signal between the external antenna and the internal antenna.

Such a radio signal transmitter has the advantage that light of the corresponding wavelength is considered completely harmless and can be used almost anywhere. In addition, the light waves can be easily limited in the spatial spread by any optical shielding. Another advantage here is the license-free use of the corresponding frequencies.

In one embodiment of the arrangement, the radio signal transmitter comprises a frequency converter, which is configured to convert the radio signal received by the external antenna into a radio signal of another frequency and to transmit it via the internal antenna to the wireless communication device.

This offers the advantage that different radio access technologies based on different frequencies can be coupled with it. For example For example, the outdoor antenna can receive an LTE radio signal while the indoor antenna can transmit in the WiFi frequency range.

In one embodiment of the arrangement, the radio signal transmitter comprises a technology converter which is designed to convert the radio signal received by the external antenna into a radio signal of another radio technology and to transmit it via the internal antenna to the wireless communication device.

This offers the advantage that different radio technologies can be coupled with it. For example, the same radio technology (e.g., LTE or WiFi) may be used on both sides or a different radio technology (e.g., LTE) towards the base station rather than HotSpot (e.g., WiFi). It is understood that both different frequencies as well as different radio technologies or combinations thereof can be used on both sides.

In one embodiment of the arrangement, the external antenna is mechanically and / or electrically alignable with the base station; and / or the inner antenna to the at least one wireless communication device mechanically and / or electrically aligned.

This offers the advantage that higher data rates can be transmitted if both antennas or at least one antenna can be aligned exactly.

In one embodiment of the arrangement, the radio signal transmitter comprises a MIMO transmitter, which is designed to transmit the radio signal in the form of a plurality of parallel spatially separated data streams to the wireless communication device.

This offers the advantage that with several parallel spatially separated data streams higher data rates can be achieved.

In one embodiment of the arrangement, the transmission module is designed to radiate an excitation signal to the base station, which corresponds to a massive MIMO pilot signal of a mobile radio terminal.

This offers the advantage that all necessary information can be communicated to the base station via the Massive MIMO pilot signal, as if the communication link were directly, i. bypassing the transmission module, initiated by the mobile station.

In an embodiment, the arrangement further comprises a receiving module configured to receive a synchronization signal from the base station, and the transmitting module is configured to transmit the excitation signal to the base station in a network-synchronized manner based on the synchronization signal.

This offers the advantage that network synchronicity is present and thus in particular TDD systems can be implemented.

According to a second aspect, the invention relates to a method for extending the range of massively multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) radio systems to shadowed areas, comprising: generating and radiating an excitation signal over an outside antenna located outside a shadowed area within radio range of a base station is to the base station to encourage the base station to form a massive MIMO beam towards the outside antenna; and transmitting a radio signal received from the base station via the outside antenna via an indoor antenna to a wireless communication device within the shadowed area, wherein the indoor antenna is coupled to the outdoor antenna and located within the shadowed area within radio range of the wireless communication device.

With such a method, heavily shaded areas can be efficiently supplied with radio signals. Even with extremely high penetration damping, as expected in future frequency ranges, shaded areas can be supplied with mobile radio signals. Massive MIMO allows the multiple use of equal frequency time resources by spatial separation of radio signals. The method enables the supply of shaded areas with higher reception field strengths, the useful signal to interference ratio and the useful signal to noise ratio and thus the data throughput can be increased.

According to a third aspect, the invention relates to an apparatus for extending the range of massive multiple-input multiple-output (M-MIMO) radio systems to shadowed areas, comprising: an outside antenna that is locatable outside a shadowed area within radio range of a base station; and a transmitter module configured to generate an excitation signal and to radiate to the base station via the outside antenna, wherein the excitation signal is configured to excite the base station to form a massive MIMO beam towards a mobile communication device within the shadowed area.

With such a device, the same advantages can be achieved as above with the arrangement or the method. As a further advantage, the device can be constructed very compact, since it consists only of an antenna and a transmitter module. Thus, e.g. the antenna can be designed as an antenna array on a printed circuit board on which the transmitter module can be implemented simultaneously.

In one embodiment of the device, the transmission module is designed to radiate an excitation signal to the base station, which corresponds to a massive MIMO pilot signal of the mobile communication device.

This offers the advantage that all necessary information can be communicated to the base station via the Massive MIMO pilot signal, as if the communication link were directly, i. bypassing the transmission module, initiated by the mobile station.

In an embodiment, the apparatus further comprises a receiving module for receiving the Massive MIMO pilot signal from the mobile communication device.

This offers the advantage that the transceiver module can react flexibly to existing mobile terminals in the building and can automatically receive and forward their Massive MIMO pilot signals. Thus, the base station can flexibly allocate the necessary resources for the mobile terminals registering via the transceiver module in the radio system.

• Fig. 1 eine schematische Darstellung eine MIMO Funksystems 100 mit einer Anordnung zum Erweitern der Reichweite des MIMO Funksystems auf einen abgeschatteten Bereich gemäß einer Ausführungsform;
• Fig. 2 eine schematische Darstellung einer Anordnung 200 zum Erweitern der Reichweite des MIMO Funksystems auf einen abgeschatteten Bereich gemäß einer Ausführungsform;
• Fig. 3 eine schematische Darstellung eines MIMO Funksystems 300 mit einer Vorrichtung zum Erweitern der Reichweite des MIMO Funksystems auf einen abgeschatteten Bereich gemäß einer Ausführungsform; und
• Fig. 4 eine schematische Darstellung eines Verfahrens 400 zum Erweitern der Reichweite eines MIMO Funksystems auf einen abgeschatteten Bereich gemäß einer Ausführungsform.

Further embodiments will be explained with reference to the accompanying drawings. Show it:

• Fig. 1 a schematic representation of a MIMO radio system 100 with an arrangement for extending the range of the MIMO radio system to a shadowed area according to an embodiment;
• Fig. 2 a schematic representation of an arrangement 200 for extending the range of the MIMO radio system to a shadowed area according to an embodiment;
• Fig. 3 a schematic representation of a MIMO radio system 300 with an apparatus for extending the range of the MIMO radio system to a shadowed area according to an embodiment; and
• Fig. 4 a schematic representation of a method 400 for extending the range of a MIMO radio system to a shadowed area according to an embodiment.

In the following detailed description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof, and in which is shown by way of illustration specific embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. It should be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and structural or logical changes may be made without departing from the concept of the present invention. The following detailed description is therefore not to be understood in a limiting sense. Further, it should be understood that the features of the various embodiments described herein may be combined with each other unless specifically stated otherwise.

Aspects and embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals generally refer to like elements. In the following description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of one or more aspects of the invention. However, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that one or more aspects or embodiments may be practiced with a lesser degree of specific details. In other instances, well-known structures and elements are shown in schematic form to facilitate describing to facilitate one or more aspects or embodiments. It is understood that other embodiments may be utilized and structural or logical changes may be made without departing from the concept of the present invention.

Furthermore, while a particular feature or aspect of an embodiment may have been disclosed in terms of only one of several implementations, such feature or aspect may be combined with one or more other features or aspects of the other implementations, as for a given or particular one Application may be desirable and advantageous. Furthermore, to the extent that the terms "contain," "have," "with," or other variants thereof are used in either the detailed description or the claims, such terms are intended to include such terms in a manner similar to the term "comprising." The terms "coupled" and "connected" may have been used along with derivatives thereof. It should be understood that such terms are used to indicate that two elements independently cooperate or interact with each other, whether they are in direct physical or electrical contact or are not in direct contact with each other. In addition, the term "exemplary" is to be considered as an example only, rather than the term for the best or optimal. The following description is therefore not to be understood in a limiting sense.

Fig. 1 11 shows a schematic representation of a MIMO radio system 100 with an arrangement for extending the range of the MIMO radio system to a shadowed area according to an embodiment. The shadowed area is hereby created by a building 110, with all components within the building 110 within the shadowed area and components outside the building, particularly at the front outside of the building 110, being outside the shaded area.

The arrangement comprises a low cost passive repeater, such as described above, in combination with a transmitter module 102 on the side of the shadowed area (or building 110) facing the base station 120. The transmission module 102 sends pilot signals 122 via an (external) antenna 101 in the direction of the massif MIMO base station or massive MIMO antenna array 120 of the base station in order to "stimulate" them, so that from the massive MIMO base station 120 in the direction of "Indoor HotSpot" permanently at least one massive MIMO Beam 121 can be formed. The "passive" repeater can extend the signal 123 to the interior. Users located in building 110 can benefit from a massive MIMO Beam 121, which is extended by the repeater into the building.

The "passive repeaters" may be used on buildings 110 (e.g., shopping centers, office buildings, ...) or other mobile subscribed hotspots, such as those described above. on trains or squares. The method can be used in both LOS (line of sight, line of sight) and NLOS (non-line of sight, no line-of-sight) environments.

The antenna 101 facing the base station 120 can be designed as a single antenna or as a MIMO antenna. A MIMO antenna allows the transmission of multiple parallel spatially separated data streams between the base station 120 and the repeater. This high data bandwidths can be provided. In this embodiment, the transmit module component supports corresponding MIMO methods.

The "passive repeater" consists of a (directional) (outer) antenna 101 and a (directional) (inner) antenna 111, which are connected by e.g. a coaxial cable 103 is connected and supplies the interior to be supplied via an antenna (i.e., via the inside antenna 111). In particular, the inner antenna may also be designed as an "omnidirectional antenna", i. as an antenna that transmits and / or receives in a 360 degree range or even in a subrange thereof. The repeater can work bidirectionally or unidirectionally. With the method or arrangement, mobile hotspots such as buses or rail vehicles (e.g., trains) can also be connected.

As mentioned above, passive repeaters have the disadvantage that the system gain is limited, so The high system gains at the radio interface of Massive-MIMO systems compensate for the disadvantages of passive repeaters, however.

The method or the arrangement can furthermore be used to connect small base stations (micro, pico, or femtocells) to the mobile radio core network, for example via backhaul.

For the transmission of the radio signal 123 between outdoor and indoor various methods can be used, in addition to the above-described low-priced solution with passive repeater and optical methods can be used, for example based on VLC (Visible Light Communication), i. on visible light, or other methods, as described above with respect to radio signal transmission.

The transmission module 102 transmits a pilot signal 122, with the aid of which the Massive MIMO base station 120 standard-compliant determines the direction or the matrix of the radio channel of the repeater and thus enables them to carry out the shaping of a "beam" 121.

The pilot signal 122 transmitted by the repeater can correspond to a typical Massive MIMO pilot of a mobile radio terminal, for example of the user equipment 112. In the Time Division Duplex (TDD) system, the pilot signal 122 is radiated network-synchronously, for which purpose the transmission module should be able to receive synchronization signals from the base station 120. The transmission / reception module 102 is in this case similar to a normal mobile radio terminal, for example similar to the UE 112. In Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) systems, the active component may optionally be designed as a pure transmission module 102, since synchronization with the mobile radio network is not absolutely necessary.

As a further embodiment, a repeater may emit a special coding so that the base station (BS) can recognize that it is a "repeater". The repeater coding may affect the Massive MIMO Base Station 120 in terms of its resource allocation strategy.

The method or the arrangement described here creates the prerequisite that strongly shaded areas can be supplied with radio signals. Taking into account the radio channel analog matrix between base station 120 and repeater, a "beam" 121 is provided towards the hotspot. Even at extremely high Penetration attenuation, as expected in future frequency ranges used, shaded areas can be supplied with mobile signals 113. Massive MIMO allows the multiple use of same frequency-time resources through spatial separation of radio signals. The combination of Massive MIMO and passive repeater enables the use of cost-effective repeaters.

The method and the arrangement described here enables the supply of shaded areas with higher reception field strengths, it increases the useful signal to interference ratio and the useful signal to noise ratio and thus the data throughput of the radio systems. By the method or with the arrangement described here, cell edge regions can be supplied with high data rates much more efficiently and far-reaching.

By placing the repeater in positions where there are usually no mobile subscribers, the repeater-shaped beam 121 can be provided exclusively by the repeater to a shadowed area 110, thus allocating the frequency-time resources additionally from other spatially separated users or repeaters become. Thus, high data bandwidths can be provided at hotspots, even in shadowed areas.

It should be noted that a transmission of the signal does not necessarily have to be transmitted via a repeater, however it is executed. As a further variant, the transmitter module 102 may excite the M-MIMO base station 120 to form a beam onto a shadowed area and thus provide sufficient signal strength to overcome the penetration damping. Such an embodiment is discussed below FIG. 3 described in more detail.

Fig. 2 12 shows a schematic representation of an arrangement 200 for extending the range of massively multiple-input multiple-output (M-MIMO) radio systems to shadowed areas 210 according to one embodiment. The shaded area 210 may be defined, for example, by the interior of a building, eg, a building 110 as in FIG FIG. 1 described or a vehicle or be formed by a rear wall of a building. Shaded area is understood to mean an area in which radio communication to a base station is impaired, that is, an area which outside the radio range of the base station or in a border region of the radio range, for example at the cell edge.

The arrangement 200 comprises an outer antenna 101, an inner antenna 111, a transmission module 102 and a radio signal transmitter 202. The outer antenna 101 may be of the type described in FIG FIG. 1 outside antenna 101 corresponds to and is outside a shadowed area 210 in the radio range of a base station, for example, the in FIG. 1 described base station with Massive MIMO antenna array 120 can be arranged. The indoor antenna 111 may be that in FIG. 1 inside antenna 111 and is within the shadowed area 210 in the radio range of at least one wireless communication device, for example the UE 112 FIG. 1 locatable. The terms "inside" and "outside" refer to respective areas inside or outside the shaded area. The transmission module 102 may correspond to the in FIG. 1 described transmitting module 102 and is adapted to an excitation signal, such as an excitation signal 122 as in FIG. 1 described and to emit via the outer antenna 101 to the base station 120. In this case, the excitation signal 122 is designed to stimulate the base station 120 to form a massive MIMO beam 121, which is also referred to as a beam, in the direction of the outer antenna 101. The radio signal transmitter 202 may be the in FIG. 1 described coaxial cable 103 or as generally described above with respect to radio signal transmission executed. The radio signal transmitter 202 is designed to receive a radio signal of the base station 120 received from the external antenna 101, for example a useful signal 123 according to FIG FIG. 1 to transmit via the indoor antenna 111 to the wireless communication device 112.

In one embodiment, the radio signal transmitter 202, 103 together with the outside antenna 101 and the inside antenna 111 may form a passive repeater, for example a passive repeater as generally described above with respect to radio signal transmission, which may be configured to receive the massive MIMO beam received from the outside antenna 101 121 with the radio signal 123 in the shadowed area 210 to extend. In one embodiment, the passive repeater can operate bidirectionally, ie signals can be transmitted both in the direction of the inner antenna 111 to the outer antenna 101 and in the direction of the outer antenna 101 to the inner antenna 111. In an alternative embodiment, the passive repeater may operate unidirectionally, ie toward either indoor antenna 111 External antenna 101 or in the direction of external antenna 101 to internal antenna 111 signals can be transmitted.

In one embodiment, the radio signal transmitter 202 may be formed as a coaxial cable 103, for example as to FIG. 1 described, which connects the outer antenna 101 with the inner antenna 111.

In one embodiment, the transmission module 102 may be configured to broadcast a specific encoding to the base station 120, which signals the base station 120 a corresponding resource request. For example, this coding may signal that several beams 121 are to be generated by the base station and directed towards the outside antenna 101 in order to ensure a corresponding data rate. For example, the coding may be made dependent on the number of UEs located in the building or shaded area 210 to be serviced by the base station.

In one embodiment, the radio signal transmitter 202 may be configured to establish a backhaul connection between the base station 120 and the wireless communication device 112. For example, this wireless communication device may be a small radio cell, e.g. a micro, pico or femtocell responsible for communicating with other communication devices 112. The Backhaulverkehr this small radio cell can thus be performed on the base station 120.

In one embodiment, the radio signal transmitter 202 may include an optical transmitter configured to transmit an optical signal between the outside antenna 101 and the inside antenna 111, e.g. via a fiber optic cable or via an air interface, e.g. over an optical medium like a windowpane.

In one embodiment, the radio signal transmitter 202 may include a Visible Light Communication (VLC) transmitter configured to transmit a VLC signal between the outside antenna 101 and the inside antenna 111, as described above.

The radio signal transmitter 202 may include a frequency converter and / or a technology converter. The frequency converter may be configured to convert the radio signal 123 received from the outside antenna 101 into a radio signal 113 of another frequency and to transmit it via the inside antenna 111 to the wireless communication device 112. The technology converter may be configured to convert the radio signal 123 received from the outside antenna 101 into a radio signal 113 of another radio technology and to transmit it via the inside antenna 111 to the wireless communication device 112. It is understood that combinations of the above two reactions are possible. For example, the radio signal 123 may be received by the outside antenna 101 via an LTE or 5G communication network while the radio signal 113 may be radiated from the inside antenna 111 via a WLAN network.

Both the outer antenna 101 and the inner antenna 111 may be designed as directional antennas or be aligned. In this case, the outer antenna 101 can be aligned with the base station 120 and / or the inner antenna 111 can be aligned with the at least one wireless communication device 112.

In one embodiment, the radio signal transmitter 202 may include a MIMO transmitter that may be configured to transmit the radio signal 123 to the wireless communication device 112 in the form of multiple parallel spatially separated data streams.

In one embodiment, the transmitter module 102 may be configured to radiate an excitation signal 122 to the base station 120 that corresponds to a Massive MIMO pilot signal of a mobile station 112.

In one embodiment, the arrangement may further comprise a receiving module or the transmitting module may be embodied as a transmitting / receiving module and configured to receive a synchronization signal from the base station 120. In this embodiment, the transmission module 102 can emit the excitation signal 122 in a network-synchronized manner to the base station 120 based on the synchronization signal.

Fig. 3 11 shows a schematic representation of a MIMO radio system 300 having an apparatus 310 for extending the range of the MIMO radio system to a shadowed area 210 according to one embodiment.

The device includes an outdoor antenna, such as an outdoor antenna 101 as in the above FIGS. 1 and 2 described, and a transmission module, such as a transmission module 102 as above to the FIGS. 1 and 2 described, however, has an extended functionality, as described below.

The external antenna 101 can be arranged outside a shadowed area 210 within the radio range of a base station 120.

The transmitter module 102 is configured to generate an excitation signal 322 and via the outside antenna 101 to the base station, for example, a base station with a massive MIMO antenna array 120 as described above FIGS. 1 and 2 described to radiate. The excitation signal 322 is configured to excite the base station 120 to form a massive MIMO beam 321 toward a mobile communication device 112 within the shadowed area 210. That is, in contrast to the embodiment of FIG. 1 and 2 The base station 120 no longer directs the massive MIMO beam 121 to the outside antenna 101 but generates a beam 321 toward the mobile communication device 112, which may be located within the shadowed area 210.

In this scenario, it is assumed that the UE 112 does not generate a beam with sufficient range that can pass over the shadowed area 210, such as the building interior, to the base station 120, while the base station 120, on the other hand, has enough energy available to pass corresponding beams 321 to create. For example, the UE 112 may be coupled to the transmitter module 102 to provide the transmitter module 102 with information about the position of the UE 112 so that the base station may generate the beam 321 with respect to the position of the UE.

Alternatively, the UE 112 may transmit a pilot signal to the transmitter module 102, or the transmitter module 102 may receive a pilot signal transmitted by the UE 112 that does not penetrate to the base station 120 and transmit it to the base station 120 (amplified). hand off. The base station then receives the pilot signal as if it originated directly from the UE 112 and generates a beam with the correct coordinates based on the received pilot signal of the UE 112.

In one embodiment, the transmit module 102 may be configured to radiate an excitation signal 322 to the base station 120 that corresponds to a Massive MIMO pilot signal 312 of the mobile communication device 112. The device 310 may further comprise a reception module or the transmission module 102 may be designed as a transmission / reception module in order to receive the massive MIMO pilot signal 312 from the mobile communication device 112.

Fig. 4 FIG. 12 is a schematic illustration of a method 400 of extending the range of a MIMO radio system to a shadowed area according to an embodiment.

The method includes generating and transmitting 401 an excitation signal over an outside antenna located outside a shadowed area within radio range of a base station to the base station to excite the base station to form a massive MIMO beam towards the outside antenna, for example as above the FIGS. 1 and 2 described.

The method further comprises transmitting 402 a radio signal received from the base station via the outside antenna via an indoor antenna to a wireless communication device within the shadowed area, the indoor antenna coupled to the outdoor antenna and located within the shadowed area within radio range of the wireless communication device, for example as above to the FIGS. 1 and 2 described.

One aspect of the invention also includes a computer program product that can be loaded directly into the internal memory of a digital computer and includes software code portions that enable it FIG. 4 described method 400 may be performed when the product is running on a computer. The computer program product may be stored on a computer-aided non-transitory medium and may include computer readable programming means for causing a computer to execute the method 400.

The computer may be a PC, for example a PC of a computer network. The computer may be implemented as a chip, an ASIC, a microprocessor or a signal processor and may be implemented in a communication network, for example in a communication network in the in FIG. 1 described building 110 may be arranged.

It is to be understood that the features of the various embodiments described herein by way of example may be combined with each other except as specifically stated otherwise. As shown in the specification and drawings, individual elements that have been shown to be related need not communicate directly with each other; Intermediate elements may be provided between the connected elements. Further, it is to be understood that embodiments of the invention may be implemented in discrete circuits, partially integrated circuits, or fully integrated circuits or programming means. The term "for example" is meant as an example only and not as the best or optimal. While particular embodiments have been illustrated and described herein, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that a variety of alternative and / or similar implementations may be practiced instead of the illustrated and described embodiments without departing from the concept of the present invention. The invention is defined by independent claims 1 and 9. Preferred embodiments of the invention are specified in the subclaims. While several embodiments and / or examples have been disclosed in this specification, the subject matter for which protection is sought is strictly and exclusively limited to those embodiments and / or examples encompassed by the scope of the appended claims. Embodiments mentioned in the description and / or examples that do not fall within the scope of the claims are useful for understanding the invention.

Claims (9)

1. An assembly (200) for expanding the range of Massive Multiple-Input Multiple-Output, MIMO, radio systems to shaded areas (210), comprising:

   an outer antenna (101) which is arranged outside a shaded area (210) within the radio range of a base station (120);

   an inner antenna (111) which is arranged within the shaded area (210) within the radio range of at least one wireless communication device (112);

   a transmission module (102) which is configured to generate an excitation signal (122) and radiate it via the outer antenna (101) to the base station (120), wherein the excitation signal (122) is configured to excite the base station (120) to form a Massive MIMO beam (121) in the direction of the outer antenna (101); and

   a radio signal transmitter (202, 103) which is configured to transmit a radio signal (123) of the base station (120) received by the outer antenna (101) via the inner antenna (111) to the wireless communication device (112),

   wherein the radio signal transmitter (202, 103) together with the outer antenna (101) and the inner antenna (111) forms a passive repeater which is configured to expand the Massive MIMO beam (121) received by the outer antenna (101) together with the radio signal (123) into the shaded area (210).
2. The assembly (200) according to claim 1,
   wherein the radio signal transmitter (202, 103) is configured as a coaxial cable (103) which connects the outer antenna (101) to the inner antenna (111).
3. The assembly (200) according to any one of the preceding claims,
   wherein the transmission module (102) is configured to radiate a specific coding to the base station (120), wherein the specific coding signals a corresponding source demand to the base station (120).
4. The assembly (200) according to any one of the preceding claims,
   wherein the radio signal transmitter (202, 103) is configured to establish a backhaul connection between the base station (120) and the wireless communication device (112).
5. The assembly (200) according to any one of the preceding claims,
   wherein the outer antenna (101) is mechanically and/or electrically alignable with the base station (120); and/or
   wherein the inner antenna (111) is mechanically and/or electrically alignable with the at least one wireless communication device (112).
6. The assembly (200) according to any one of the preceding claims,
   wherein the radio signal transmitter (202, 103) comprises a MIMO transmitter which is configured to transmit the radio signal (123) in the form of a plurality of parallel spatially separate data streams to the wireless communication device (112).
7. The assembly (200) according to any one of the preceding claims,
   wherein the transmission module (102) is configured to radiate an excitation signal (122) which corresponds to a Massive MIMO pilot signal of a mobile communication terminal (112) to the base station (120).
8. The assembly (200) according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising:

   a receiving module (102) which is configured to receive a synchronization signal from the base station (120),

   wherein the transmission module (102) is configured to radiate the excitation signal (122) based on the synchronization signal in a network-synchronous manner to the base station (120).
9. A method (400) for expanding the range of Massive Multiple-Input Multiple-Output, MIMO, radio systems to shaded areas, comprising:

   generating and radiating (401) an excitation signal via an outer antenna being arranged outside a shaded area within the radio range of a base station to the base station in order to excite the base station to form a Massive MIMO beam in the direction of the outer antenna; and

   transmitting (402), by a radio signal transmitter (202, 103), a radio signal received by the base station via the outer antenna to a wireless communication device within the shaded area via an inner antenna, wherein the inner antenna is coupled to the outer antenna and arranged within the shaded area within the radio range of the wireless communication device,

   wherein the radio signal transmitter together with the outer antenna and the inner antenna forms a passive repeater which is configured to expand the Massive MIMO beam received by the outer antenna with the radio signal into the shaded area.

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